New Delhi: India and the United States have made progress on key matters such as market access, non-tariff measures, technical barriers to trade, customs and trade facilitation, investment promotion, economic security alignment and digital trade in the latest round of negotiations held in Washington to finalise the details of the interim trade agreement between the two countries, the Commerce & Industry Ministry said on Friday.
The Indian delegation carried out the discussions with their US counterparts this week, from April 20 to 23.
“The meetings were conducted in a constructive and positive spirit with meaningful and forward-looking discussions enabling progress on key matters. Both sides agreed to remain engaged to maintain this momentum as they move forward,” a ministry statement said.
India and the United States issued a Joint Statement on February 7, agreeing on a framework for an Interim Agreement regarding reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade. The framework reaffirmed the countries’ commitment to the broader India-U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement negotiations.
In pursuance thereof, the Indian side visited Washington, D.C. for an in-person round of meetings with their US counterparts to finalise the details of the interim agreement and take forward the negotiations under the broader BTA.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday that the first tranche of the India-US bilateral trade agreement has almost been finalised, and a team of his ministry officials is in Washington for the discussions.
“We have almost finalised the free trade agreement, the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement with them,” the minister told journalists.
“We are trying to work out what would be the mechanism by which India can get preferential market access in the US market compared to our competitors,” he said.
The Indian trade delegation led by chief negotiator Darpan Jain was in the United States for a three-day visit for the trade talks.
Earlier, India and the United States decided to reschedule the meeting between teams headed by the chief trade negotiators of the two countries, following the US Supreme Court striking down President Donald Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariff hikes. The apex court ruled that the executive branch exceeded its constitutional authority by using emergency powers to levy broad import duties.
The proposed visit of the Indian team to Washington, scheduled for February 23, to give the final touches to the bilateral trade deal, was postponed so that the two countries could study the developments flowing from the US Supreme Court judgment. It was decided at the time to set a new date for the meeting that would be convenient for both sides.
(IANS)
